Former Resident Spotlight

Crystal Pipkin – Collier Group Home – 1998-2000

As
Crystal Pipkin embarks on a new career in law enforcement, it is clear
she has achieved the goal she set for herself upon graduating from Kean
University in 2004 with a degree in Criminal Justice. As a Parole
Officer working for the New York State Department of Corrections and
Community Supervision, Crystal is working with those convicted of very
severe crimes but views their success as her mission. I was always
interested in both Social Work and Law Enforcement, and parole officers
actually wear both hats, Crystal explained. We do home visits, meet with
their family, and have contact with everyone in their life.

Crystal's
sensitivity to those who have experienced hard times undoubtedly comes
from her own childhood, in which she was raised by a single mother
struggling with addiction; she never met her father. Many [parolees]
went in as youthful offenders and lacked family support.

“I was miserable, and felt like nobody listened to me,” recalled Nancy Nicolas.
“They wanted to think I had behavior problems, but I was a good girl.”
Nancy’s description of how she felt prior to entering Collier Group Home
is heart-wrenching, especially knowing that she truly is a “good girl.”
Her words describe the five years she spent in foster care after her
mother was deported when Nancy was just ten years old. After running
away from her foster mother’s home, Nancy was hospitalized and then
ultimately placed in a shelter, where she spent her 15th birthday. This
was especially difficult since Nancy’s family is of Mexican descent, and
this birthday in particular – one’s “quinceanera” – is as significant
as many girls’ Sweet Sixteen. “It was so sad, and no one even knew it
was my birthday!” remembered Nancy. “My life was not right, and I
couldn’t see myself happy.”